Engineers at a company are generally going to be of a similar caliber, regardless of background. Less prestigious companies will have less impressive h1bs, but

Engineers at a company are generally going to be of a similar caliber, regardless of background. Less prestigious companies will have less impressive h1bs, but they will fit right in. There may be some industries with difficult infra projects, but as you admit, that's not most projects. And of course I think they compete on labor cost and efficiency. That's why they often send the infra team to low cost areas. Not every task can make maximal use of talent. The amazing PhD engineer demanding 500k won't make better coffee than a college dropout asking 40k, despite the potential for the espresso machine breaking down mid shift or accidentally dropping rat poison into everyone's coffee.